S2E4: Be Kind, Love Hard

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Episode Transcript

(00:01):
I have no time, you know, story of my life, but I finished
season 4 of The Boys and half the time the TV's watching me.
I'm not really watching it. So I miss some things here and
there, but that's OK. I forgive myself.
And maybe when I watch it again in a year or two, it'll be
exciting just like it was the first time around.

(00:24):
So that's the added plus. But yeah, I was watching it.
It's chaotic superhero show withall the blood and drama and
moral grayness that you could hope for in a show.
There's a moment in there, though, where Ryan looks at his
father. He looks him in the eye, and he

(00:45):
says, I don't want to be like you, I want to be kind.
That line stuck with me and I want to talk about it today.
This is the way forward, and you're listening to your host
better, Moody. We spent so much time trying to

(01:06):
be strong and trying to protect and get everything right, take
care of our kids. But sometimes the most powerful
thing that you can do in a family is simply be kind.
Everybody's talking about it, but are we doing it?
And we're all guilty of it? I think we're all rushing and

(01:30):
pushing through stuff. I think I was talking about
yesterday, but yeah, oh, no. In the fork, in the road, that's
where I was talking about it. But it's not right.
It's not impressive. It's not being invincible that

(01:51):
your kids notice or your family notices.
It's just simply the kindness. It's the feeling that you leave
them with. So I think about my kids and all
the little ways that they're trying to connect with me.
Even when I'm, even when I'm wrapped up in work and I'm
rushing to push out a product right now, they're asleep.

(02:13):
Of course, I'm all wrapped up inthe mess of being a provider
because I'm a mom, I'm a soldier, I'm a creator.
I'm the one holding it down, putting the food on the table
even though no one's eating it. The truth is, they don't need me

(02:33):
to be perfect. They just need me to be present.
And that might be one of the hardest things to do in this day
and age is to simply be present.And it's not some kind of
meditation that you can just jump into or, you know, a little

(02:54):
simple countdown to get you backin the moment.
It really does take effort. It's like thinking about
nothing. That takes effort to clear your
mind, but also pay attention andwithout any sort of baggage or
background noise to actually listen to people when they talk

(03:17):
to you. So some days I feel like I'm
failing at that. Some days I might raise my voice
an octave or two. Some days I I just completely
shut down and I'm just like, F it mode.
It's going to be dirty again tomorrow.
It's going to, it'll all work itself out.

(03:39):
Some days I can barely hold myself together and I need a
time out while I'm taking care of everybody else who's taking
care of me. And I'm not real selfish about
it, but I think it takes a toll on me because there's no real
time for me to do a reset. So struggles of the single mom,
single mom life, but the people who hold on to me anyway,

(04:02):
they're my family. Even when I'm ugly, even when I
do things that I'm not so proud of, there they are still loving
me, not judging me, their littlegoogly eyes looking at me and
forgiving me immediately. They're the ones who show up
when I'm not at my best, and they're the ones that I need to

(04:24):
hold on to and pay attention to the most.
They're the ones I need to give as much as I can while there's
breath in my body. And I recognize that.
So today is just one of those days where maybe I don't feel
like I'm enough. Maybe you don't feel like you're

(04:45):
enough. So I'm just going to say as a
reminder that kindness does count and being present matters
so much. Love.
Pure, pure love. What is that Princess Bride
love? Even in the quietest, seemingly

(05:09):
passionless moment, passionless moments, that's what echoes and
that's what speaks the loudest to the people who love you,
supporting them, being there, listening.
So you don't have to be a hero. You don't have to be a hero
today. You just have to show up for

(05:31):
your kids. Be real, Be honest.
Honest with yourself and then honest with your family.
And if you're lucky enough to have someone who keeps choosing
you even when you're a hot mess,maybe consider choosing them
back. Hold on to them.

(05:54):
Hold on to them hard. I'm so fortunate to have the
children that I do. I'm not always proud of their
actions, and sometimes I feel like my brain is going to
explode over some of the things that happened.

(06:17):
But I've been learning to just breathe and remember that all
this is just stuff. My mom would say it's all going
to burn one day. So So what if you get a couch
and someone stabs it with scissors?
Scissors that were put up? Like what?
Where did you even get these? Or you unlock my phone and buy

(06:40):
$2000 worth of stuff on PlayStation.
I love you. I just want you to know when you
grow up and hear this, remember that I loved you.
I loved you hard. Hold on to those that are, that
are so precious and so dear to you.
So that's it. That's the message that I have

(07:03):
for you today and man, it is a super short 1.
You are listening to The Way Forward and I am your host.
Better Moody. Have a wonderful day and I will
see you in the next episode.